Not only does this allow you to stay away from the busy traffic and crowded shopping centres, that are inevitable during the holiday season, but it also enables you to do your Christmas shopping at any time.

While visiting retail stores allows you to receive the instant gratification of taking your gifts home the same day you purchase them, you must also contend with crowded shopping centres and parking areas, which can cause substantial amounts of stress in many cases.

Shopping online gives you the freedom to purchase everything you need from the comfort of your home and without the frustration associated with long queues.

Another benefit of shopping online is that it gives you more freedom to purchase last-minute gifts that may be sold out at local stores.

In addition, this can reduce the stress of holiday shopping substantially by allowing you to send gifts directly to friends or relatives without spending unnecessary amounts of time at the post office during the holiday season.

Christmas shopping online offers many advantages over visiting local stores to purchase gifts for friends and family during the holiday season.

Not only does it allow you to avoid the holiday traffic and long queues associated with Christmas, but it can also give you more freedom to do your shopping when you choose to, even if this is on the day before Christmas.

While there are a few drawbacks to shopping online, instead of in person, the benefits you receive outweigh the disadvantages greatly.

While using the Internet to do your shopping is time efficient, consumers should beware of the risks associated with this type of shopping.

Some of the risks include:

n Fraud resulting from making payments over unsecured web pages.

n Buying fake goods intentionally or unintentionally, finding they are of inferior quality and also possibly funding more serious crimes in the process.

n Receiving goods or services which do not match the advertiser’s description.

Here are a few safety tips to ensure an enjoyable and convenient shopping experience:

n Use familiar websites. Start at a trusted site rather than shopping with a search engine. Search results can be rigged to lead you astray. If you know the site, chances are it’s less likely to be a rip off.

n Look for the lock. Never buy anything online using your credit card from a site that doesn’t have a secure sockets layer (SSL) encryption installed.

You’ll know if the site has SSL because the URL for the site will start with HTTPS instead of just HTTP. Never give anyone your credit card details over email.

n Check statements. Don’t wait for your bill to come at the end of the month. Go online regularly during the holiday season and look at electronic statements for your credit card and debit card. Make sure you don’t see any fraudulent charges.